The Golden State Warriors proceed to wrestle. With Jonathan Kuminga out and Draymond Inexperienced lacking the final two video games, Steve Kerr appeared elsewhere for his measurement and toughness.
Regardless that he did not have his finest recreation in Toronto, Gui Santos confirmed over the previous couple of video games that Kerr may not have the ability to maintain him on the bench for lengthy. Santos’ stats communicate for themselves and show he could also be on the Warriors’ depth chart.
On Monday night time, the Warriors fell to the lowly Toronto Raptors 104-101, with the guests unable to deal with the dimensions and hustle of the house crew. Stephen Curry did his finest to hold the Dubs, however with out Inexperienced within the lineup, the Warriors could not maintain the Raptors out of the paint. Being the smallest crew within the league is beginning to present as Golden State was outscored 50-26 within the paint.
Gui Santos might have to grow to be an everyday within the Warriors’ rotation
Santos’ stats aren’t essentially apparent, because the Brazilian ahead has solely had restricted alternatives throughout his two-year NBA profession. That being mentioned, he is beginning to benefit from it. He is averaging simply 2.3 factors, 1.5 rebounds and 0.9 assists this season on 48.8% from the sector and 36.8% from three. Remember that all of this averages 8.3 minutes per recreation.
This season, Santos has had the chance to showcase his abilities on a number of events. When Santos performs 10 minutes or extra, he’s +7 general and averages 6.5 factors and three.3 rebounds. These numbers nonetheless aren’t horny, however this bounce exhibits that with extra alternative comes better manufacturing. The Warriors can nonetheless use measurement and taking pictures, components that Santos can carry.
Moreover the uncooked numbers, Santos turns into important to the Warriors due to the power he brings. Whereas the Warriors are on the mistaken aspect of .500, they desperately want the sort of power and life Santos brings, particularly in an important efficiency towards the Detroit Pistons on Thursday. The offensive rebounds, the sprints down the courtroom, the underdog mentality. These are all issues the Warriors have to embrace as they proceed to attempt to discover an id.
Santos’ power, measurement (on an extremely undersized Warriors roster), and taking pictures stroke make him more and more playable. If different gamers on the Warriors bench aren’t in a position to carry comparable power and abilities, Kerr might want to really take into account integrating Santos into the common rotation.
